Tonight's Movie: I Remember Mama (1948) - A Warner Archive Blu-ray Review

My junior high school library was a treasure trove of great reading, including many books which had also become movies: GONE WITH THE WIND, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, JUBILEE TRAIL, HONDO, OUR HEARTS WERE YOUNG AND GAY, and many more.

One such favorite book I discovered thanks to that library was MAMA'S BANK ACCOUNT by Kathryn Forbes; I liked it so much I later found my own copy at a used bookstore back in pre-Internet days.

MAMA'S BANK ACCOUNT became a Broadway play in 1944, written by John Van Druten, and then was adapted for RKO Pictures by DeWitt Bodeen. I first knew Bodeen's name as a teenager also, thanks to his articles in Films in Review magazine.

Like some other great books turned into movies, the cast of characters in MAMA'S BANK ACCOUNT was slightly reduced when it was dramatized; for example, just as with NATIONAL VELVET (1944), the five children in the book were changed to four, with the baby born midway through MAMA'S BANK ACCOUNT dropped from I REMEMBER MAMA.

But also like NATIONAL VELVET, the film version is pure magic, regardless of adjustments from the original source material. It's a superb film which encompasses much of the original book, running a fairly lengthy-for-its-era 134 minutes.

The film was lovingly directed by George Stevens and filmed in black and white by the great Nicholas Musuraca (OUT OF THE PAST). Musuraca was Oscar nominated for this film.

Irene Dunne plays the title character in I REMEMBER MAMA, with Barbara Bel Geddes as her daughter Katrin, whose reminisces of Mama and the rest of her family in early 20th Century San Francisco frame the story.

Much like the book, which is a collection of stories, the film is a series of vignettes about a large family, headed by Mama (Dunne) and Papa (Philip Dorn).

Besides Katrin, there are her siblings Nels (Steve Brown), Christine (Peggy McIntyre), and Dagmar (June Hedin); Aunts Trina, Sigrid, and Jenny (Ellen Corby, Edith Evanson, and Hope Landin); and cantankerous Uncle Chris (Oscar Homolka), who periodically arrives in San Francisco on a visit from his farm.  

Mama is at the center of every tale, whether she's mediating relationships between her squabbling sisters, circumventing hospital rules to visit her little girl post surgery, or encouraging Katrin's writing, Nels's education, or Dagmar's love of animals.

The film is moving yet not manipulatively so, thanks in large part to its natural and realistic characters, headed by Dunne.

Dunne is magnificent in one of her several Oscar-nominated performances, playing a determined woman at the heart of her family. Life is sometimes difficult but Mama is always there to provide reassurance, whether it's clearing the way for Aunt Trina (Corby) to wed, living up to her promise to visit Dagmar in the hospital, or sitting by a dying Uncle Chris's bedside.

Bel Geddes, Corby, and Homolka were all also Oscar nominated and do a fine job.

Homolka, reprising his role from the original Broadway cast, carries on a bit too loudly for my taste but he certainly creates a unique character, and I loved the relationships he developed with Katrin, Christine, and their cousin Arne (Tommy Ivo). Initially intimidated by their loud relative, the children are drawn into better relationships with their uncle thanks to shared secrets and jokes.

Corby gets her own special moment in her final scene with her husband (Edgar Bergen), and it's easy to see why she received a nomination. It's very satisfying seeing Trina find happiness somewhat later in life.

One of my favorite moments in the film is when Mama and Papa wordlessly decide Katrin is ready for a true rite of passage, her first cup of coffee...which she's then too emotional to drink! It's a lovely scene, and again the dash of starch at scene's end offsets the sentimentality.

I especially enjoy McIntyre as the stubborn Christine. She's a unique character who adheres to the truth and her inner moral compass at all times; McIntyre has plenty of screen time and is quite memorable. McIntyre, sometimes billed McIntire, was 15 when this was filmed. She retired from the screen in 1954. IMDb does not provide a death date so it's nice to think she may still be with us; her screen siblings have all passed on.

The superb cast also includes Rudy Vallee in a small role as a kindly doctor and Barbara O'Neil as Uncle Chris's steadfast wife. Vallee was such a good actor; compare, for instance, his note-perfect serious performance here with his comedic role in THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942).

The film's refusal to embrace treacle is especially strong in the film's final scene, as the camera pulls back from the family home to foggy San Francisco streets; "The End" comes up without a drop of music. Roy Webb provided the fairly somber score.

The Warner Archive Blu-ray looks incredibly good. It's a 1080p HD master from a new 4K scan of nitrate preservation elements.

The lone extra for this release is the film's trailer.

Recommended.

Thanks to the Warner Archive for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray. Warner Archive Blu-rays may be ordered from Movie Zyng, Amazon, and other online retailers.

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